Tag Archives: Sacrifice

It’s all well and good to talk about specific examples of sacrifice in business. For every company like Grace Manufacturing (creators of the Microplane), there are many who go under or simply cease to exist. They never learned the value of sacrifice.

But what can we do in our personal lives? If we are presented with an opportunity for greater adventure and enrichment, what will we have to leave behind?

Comfort

Strip yourself of the notion that everything has to meet every one of your high standards before you make a move. High standards are goals, not preconditions. In fact, the best reason to embark on an adventure is to achieve those awesome goals you set for yourself.

And remember that physical discomfort is the least of your concerns, and the easiest to overcome.

Time

After concern for comfort falls away, we have the responsibility to fill our days only with those activities that can help us achieve our goals. You’d be amazed how much time you can squeeze into 24 hours if you sacrifice things that don’t matter. (Hint: it’s way more than you thought). It all comes back to learning how to say No. We’re not just after opportunities for novelty’s sake, we need the right opportunities, the adventures that enrich us.

Any adventure in which you will be comfortable 100% of the time is not the right opportunity. They’re not worth sacrificing your time.

Your Self

This is where things really get personal. When I talk about the self, I’m referring to those aspects of our character we would rather not see when we look in the mirror. Our pride, our greed… anything that momentarily stimulates us at the expense of permanent fulfillment has to go.

We can fool ourselves into thinking we could work under any conditions, that we hold no biases, and that we would devote however much time is required – at any time day or night – to reach our goals. But if we still have pride we won’t achieve any goals worth reaching.

Remember that ambition is a vital part of the ego. Yet having a big ego with little ambition is like a giant beach ball that blocks out the sun. People with big egos overshadow everything around them, but they have no substance and their actions carry no force. If they sacrifice any part of themselves, they lose everything (that’s pride).

Instead, we want the reverse… something solid and stable but also unobtrusive….

Like a cannonball.

Sacrifice your comfort and submit to having a fire lit under your ass. It’s in your nature to leave comfort behind and fly to the target.

Let people underestimate you even as you exceed their highest expectations.

Your sacrifice makes you unstoppable.

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We saw yesterday how making time is infinitely better than finding time. As soon as you make time you’re already ahead of the millions who are continuously looking for it. Learn how to say Yes and No – and how often – and your sense of purpose will be fortified beyond all temporary disturbance.

But sometimes you need to make a major change. Sometimes you have the option to embark on an incredible adventure, yet in doing so you’ll have to sacrifice many of your perceptions. Think it’s safer to return to the same strategies over and over? It is our responsibility to produce the most lasting, positive effect on the world around us. If we’re only in it for our own enjoyment, it’s unlikely this will see us through the dark times.

For an example of this we need to turn to one of my favorite companies of all time: Grace Manufacturing Inc. Never heard of them? If you’re serious about cooking you probably have. They’re the manufacturers of Microplane Graters.

The story of how Microplane made the jump from the woodshop to the kitchen is incredible for its simplicity. The owners realized that they could expand their mission from “making incredibly sharp woodworking tools” to “making incredibly sharp tools, period.” They took one step towards a more general mission statement, made several changes to their marketing strategy and sales tactics… and now they’re ubiquitous in kitchens around the world.

Here’s the catch: to make this jump everyone at Grace Manufacturing had to say Yes to Sacrifice. They had to embrace what they knew best, yet at the same time look beyond the typical activities that defined their business.

And keep in mind that the company didn’t even begin with making tools for woodworking: they started out making parts for printers! The fact that their process produced extremely sharp edges was a side effect, not a goal. Though once they realized that they were in the “Sharp” business and not simply the printer parts business, it opened an entirely new world of opportunities.

Are you doing what you’re doing right now because it’s what you’ve always done? You may want to take a step back and reconnect with the unifying thread that runs through all your work. Even if you don’t quite fit with your current role, I can understand if you’re reluctant to re-examine treasured assumptions… we’re often more scared of the unknown. But if we don’t change at all, we’ll save our selves while we sacrifice everything else.

CEO Chris Grace said it best early in the company’s evolution: “We realized we were good at making sharp things. What can we make that’s sharp?” And when it comes to zesting citrus, you definitely need a tool that’s sharp. Got your Microplane? Great! Now enjoy this Orange and Poppy Seed Cake from Cookie and Kate.

No pain, no gain… right? Tell that to yourself as the sweat just pours off your forehead, thanks to Habanero Salsa from San Diego Chef Deborah Schneider. Personally, I’d switch out agave for raw honey, but either way… be careful.